By: Jeff Arnold

Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals were bad for the Oklahoma City Thunder. No matter how you spin it, they were ugly for a team that not too long ago was first in the western conference and was being carried by the game’s best scorer and was on the cusp of regaining their lightning rod point guard. Now, they are in a hole.  Down 0-2 and as lost as they’ve ever looked.

It couldn’t just be the injury of Serge Ibaka, as valuable as he is for the team. He is not the difference between sweeping a regular season series and getting blown out in back to back games. It can’t just be Durant and Westbrook who, in game 2, were a combined 13-40 shooting and scored just 30 points and were on the bench for the entirety of the fourth quarter, forced to watch as their backups were dismantled as the clock kept ticking down. If it isn’t just those two factors, then what exactly is wrong with the Thunder?

The first place you have to look is the role players. As much as Westbrook and Durant mean to the team, the play of Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefalosha, Nick Collison, Reggie Jackson, Caron Butler, Stephen Adams, and Derek Fisher, among others, is what usually determines whether they win or lose. Their horrifically bad play over the last two games is  in large part why the Thunder are in such a hole.

Perkins, despite playing alright on defense, has been an offensive liability and struggled to be a rebounding presence. This is also true for Collison who, after playing well in the second round series against the Clippers, is struggling to find his footing against Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. The lone bright spot for the Thunder bigs comes with the continued emergence of Stephen Adams. Despite not playing statistically great games, his energy on the floor and presence as an enforcer has helped the Thunder in his limited minutes.

The role and bench players of the back court have also been a part of the problem. Thabo Sefalosha is playing terrible. There’s not other way to put it. He hasn’t scored and continues to try to take step in jumpers despite clearly struggling to find his shot and has played uncharacteristically bad defense. Considering his reputation for being one of the best defenders in basketball, his consistent lack of defensive intensity while matching up with easily guardable players (i.e. Manu Ginobli) has been puzzling. Outside of Sefalosha, the play of  Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson has not been what they need. That’s not to say either is playing actively bad, but considering the offensive struggles of the team, they need a spark and it is clear that it is not coming from either one of them. The play of these two, specifically Lamb, are part of the other, possibly bigger issue with the team: Scott Brooks.

I’m a Brooks apologist. Every time he makes a questionable decision, most recently sitting Durant while the bench players choke a lead away in the second quarter,  I defend him. I say it’s all part of a bigger plan and that his system will win them the game. Recently I’ve come to realize that not only is the Thunder’s success not because of Brooks’ coaching, but that their consistent success is in spite of having a sub par coach. Has he proven to make alright in game decisions in the past? Yes, but that was with a fully healthy team in the regular season. Now, as the playoffs drag on, his “system” of letting Durant and Westbook run a two man game without ball movement, off-ball screens, or any semblance of offensive rebounding is becoming costly. You can’t expect Durant and Westbrook to always be on and when the shots inevitably do stop falling you need an actual offensive set to fall back into so you can still score and keep the game close. The Thunder don’t have that. And yeah, some of that is on their two stars who insist on playing hero ball when they see a game starting to slip away, but it is also on Brooks to identify when that is not going to work so that he can get a different rotation in. Also, despite the fact that both Durant and Westbrook have earned the right to take a large percentage of the team’s shots, Brooks needs to be able to step in and tell them when to back off and trust their teammates. If he isn’t already doing that, well then that’s a very easy adjustment to make, if he is and the players are ignoring him, then it’s time for him to go.

Here’s the crazy thing about this Thunder team. Despite being down 0-2, despite getting blown out in their first two games, despite looking lost and frustrated and mentally and emotionally exhausted, I still think they can win. Maybe it’s the blind optimism of a fan who just hates to see his team lose, but it also is because this is one of the most talented teams in the league. Westbrook  and Durant are both top five players in the league and can break out anytime, add that with the fact that they have the next two games at home, and I think it will be tied after game four. Also, even if Ibaka doesn’t play huge minutes in game three, or play at all for that matter, having him be on the bench as a security blanket for the Thunder is huge.

All in all, the Thunder have issues. They have a sluggish bench, a coach who doesn’t always make good decisions, and stars who are struggling to find their rhythm, but they can still pull this series out. Obviously these are different circumstances, but their first round comeback over the Grizzlies is important now. They know they can come back and win, it’s just a matter of executing. The Spurs have to win tonight or they just lit a fire under a team that has gone through more playoff adversity than any other team in the league.